Julian Beck
| birth_place = Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York | death_date = September | death_place = New York City, New York | occupation = Film actor, stage actor, stage director, poet, painter | spouse = Judith Malina (2 children) }} Julian Beck (May 31, 1925 - September 14, 1985) was an American poet actor, director, and painter. Life Youth Beck was born in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan in New York City, the son of Mabel Lucille (Blum), a teacher, and Irving Beck, a businessman.Julian Beck Film Reference biography He briefly attended Yale University, but dropped out to pursue writing and art. He was an Abstract Expressionist painter in the 1940s, but his career turned upon meeting his future wife. In 1943, he met Judith Malina (born 1926) and quickly came to share her passion for theatre; they founded The Living Theatre in 1947. Career Beck co-directed the Living Theatre until his death. The group's primary influence was Antonin Artaud, who espoused the Theatre of Cruelty, which was supposed to shock the audience out of complacency. This took different forms. In one example, from Jack Gelber's The Connection, a drama about drug addiction, actors playing junkies wandered the audience demanding money for a fix. The Living Theatre moved out of New York in 1974, after the Internal Revenue Service shut it down when Beck failed to pay $23,000 in back taxes. After a sensational trial, in which Beck and Malina represented themselves, they were found guilty by a jury. Beck's philosophy of theatre carried over into his life. He once said, "We insisted on experimentation that was an image for a changing society. If one can experiment in theatre, one can experiment in life." He was indicted a dozen times on three continents for charges such as disorderly conduct, indecent exposure, possession of narcotics, and failing to participate in a civil defense drill. Besides his theatre work, Beck published several volumes of poetry reflecting his anarchist beliefs, and 2 non-fiction books: The Life of the Theatre and Theandric. He had several film appearances, with small roles in Emergency, Edipo Re, The Cotton Club, 9½ Weeks, and a major role in Poltergeist II. Personal life Beck and Malina were life partners in an open marriage, and Beck had a long-term relationship with Ilion Troya, a male actor in the company. Malina and Beck shared a lover in Lester Schwartz, a bisexual shipyard worker who was the 3rd husband of Andy Warhol acolyte Dorothy Podber.Obituary of Dorothy Podber, The Daily Telegraph, February 26, 2008 Beck and Malina had "two offstage children", Garrick and Isha. Death Beck was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 1983, and died 2 years later at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, aged 60."Julian Beck, 60, is dead; Founded Living Theater", Samuel G. Freedman, New York Times, September 17, 1985 He was survived by his wife, their 2 children, Garrick and Isha, and a brother. He was interred at Cedar Park Cemetery, in Emerson, New Jersey. See also * List of U.S. poets References External links ;About *Julian Beck at NNDB * *Julian Beck at Miami Vice Wiki *"https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/17/theater/julian-beck-60-is-dead-founded-living-theater.html Julian Beck, 60, Is Dead: Founded Living Theater]" (obituary), [New York Times|New York Times Category:1925 births Category:1985 deaths Category:Actors from New York Category:American Jews Category:American anarchists Category:American film actors Category:American poets Category:American theatre directors Category:Anarchist poets Category:Bisexual actors Category:Bisexual writers Category:Cancer deaths in New York Category:Deaths from stomach cancer Category:Jewish actors Category:Jewish poets Category:LGBT directors Category:LGBT Jews Category:LGBT writers from the United States